1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to arrangements for launching payloads, such as spacecraft or satellites from launch vehicles and, more particularly, to launching arrangements in which the payload is gyroscopically stabilized by spinning at the time it is launched or ejected from the launch vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some prior art arrangements, such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,687; E. H. Wrench et al, employ a satellite carrier described by Wrench et al as a dispenser in which separate instrumentalities are employed to impart angular and linear momentum to the satellite to be launched. Wrench et al employ a motor to spin the dispenser and springs to apply force longitudinally of the dispenser to separate the spinning dispenser from the booster.
Other prior art arrangements impart angular momentum and linear momentum in which the linear momentum is in a direction transverse to the rotation axis. U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,605 Leonard Hoffman et al, extends a ramp from the side of an accelerating ballistic missile down which the payload rolls to pass from the missile in response to that component of the accelerating force acting parallel to the ramp.
Still other prior art arrangements have employed springs to achieve payload separation from a launch vehicle to provide linear, but not angular, velocity to the deployed payload.
Arrangements such as that of Hoffman et al are limited as to the type of vehicle from which the payload may be launched, while arrangements employing separate instrumentalities for imparting angular and linear momentum to the payload add weight and the separate spin mechanism usually requires power from limited capacity energy sources. Spring arrangements providing linear velocity alone are not safely employed where payload launching from a close fitting payload bay is necessary. Moreover, payload stabilization and orientation now necessitate the expenditure of energy carried by the payload.